Changing the Boss

David Maister gives some tips on how to get the boss to change.

An excerpt:

You need to understand what the other person's wants really are. Don't make lazy, short-hand assumptions, such as economic maximization. You need to find out what their real psychological drivers are (need for glory, need for control, insecurity, vanity) and find a way to give them what they don't yet have enough of. Don't be unethical or exploitative, but recognize that you're dealing with the psychological complexities of a person here, not just a "rational, logical" situation.